A welterweight scrap between Alex “Cowboy” Oliveira and Gunnar Nelson has been added to UFC 231 in December.
Multiple sources confirmed the initial report from ESPN to MMAFighting on Thursday.
Nelson (16-3-1) has not been seen inside the Octagon since his controversial loss to Santiago Ponzinibbio in July 2017. During the scrap, fans witnessed Nelson succumb to punches early in the first round of their main event matchup in Scotland. However, Nelson almost immediately argued an inadvertent eye poke from Ponzinibbio led to the fight-ending combination. Nelson later unsuccessfully attempted to appeal the loss.
“Gunni” was expected to return to action against Neil Magny at UFC Liverpool in May 2017 before a knee injury forced him out of the contest.
Oliveira (19-5-1) was last seen starching Carlo Perdersoli Jr. just 39 seconds into their fight in September. This not only marked his 12th career (T)KO victory but also his fourth stoppage win in his last five fights. Prior to his last performance, Oliveira stunned the fighting community with a second-round submission over former UFC interim champion Carlos Condit in April.
With the addition of this welterweight contest, here is how the entire cards stands:
Max Holloway (c) vs. Brian Ortega – for UFC featherweight championship
Valentina Shevchenko vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk – for vacant women’s flyweight championship
Claudia Gadelha vs. Nina Ansaroff
Eryk Anders vs. Elias Theodorou
Olivier Aubin-Mercier vs. Gilbert Burns
John Makdessi vs. Carlos Diego Ferreira
Hakeem Dawodu vs. Kyle Bochniak
Devin Clark vs. Aleksandar Rakic
Katlyn Chookagian vs. Jessica Eye
Renato Moicano vs. Mirsad Bektic
Alex Oliveira vs. Gunnar Nelson
UFC 231 will go down on Dec. 8 inside the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.
More News
Quiñonero fights Verdadero in Resbak 2
Resbak 2 at Malungon, Sarangani Province on July 12
Garde stops Baliente in 1st round in “Resbak”